Gas-fuel lighters



United States Patent O 3,484,825 GAS-FUEL LIGHTERS Robert R. Hocq, Boulogne-Billancourt, France, assignor to Societe Franco-Hispano-Americaine Francispam, Paris, France, a corporation of France Filed Feb. 20, 1968, Ser. No. 706,873 Claims priority, applicztion 6France, Mar. 10, 1967,

Int. Cl. F2311, 11/02, 7l/40 U.S. Cl. 239-587 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention concerns improvements relating to burners of gas-fuel lighters.

It is an object of the invention to provide a burner arrangement which can be used with particular convenience for lighting a pipe, although a lighter provided with such an arrangement can also be used for lighting a cigarette and for other purposes.

According to the invention, a gas-fuel lighter has a burner comprising an upwardly tapering frustoconical tip, a burner tube, constituting a valve, at the upper end of which the said tip is disposed, and a lever engaged with the burner for raising the said tube to permit gas to pass, the said tip having a blind axial passage which communicates with the said tube at the wide base of the said tip and is connected to an outwardly directed radial passage permitting the emergence of a flame at right angles to the axis of the burner, while the smaller end of the tip has a formation in which a tool can be engaged for turning at least the tip and thus the direction of the flame.

The said tip may either be formed by the upper end of the burner tube or mounted detachably on the said upper end. In the former case, the whole tube may be capable of being turned, but in the latter case only the tip need be capable of being turned.

Two embodiments of the invention by way of example will now be more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional side elevation of the upper part of a gas-fuel lighter provided with a directionally adjustable burner according to the invention.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged diagrammatic fragmental perspective view shown the burner tip and the issuing flame.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a burner tip integral with the burner assembly.

FIGURE 4 is an exploded sectional view similar to FIGURE 3, of a burner tip detachably mountable on the upper end or head of a conventional burner tube.

A gas-fuel lighter incorporating a burner tip accordingl to the invention may be of any known type, for example of the kind disclosed in the U.S. Patent No. 2,- 743,597 of Stanley H. Newman. As described in that patent, the lighter illustrated herein includes a fuel container 1 on the top wall 2 of which is mounted a spark producing wheel 3. A movable spring-biased fingerpiece 4 can be depressed in the usual way to cause the wheel 3 to strike a stream of sparks from a flint 5 housed in a flint tube 6 and to rock a pivotable valve-operating forked "ice lever 7 in order to raise a burner assembly which coinprises a cylindrical plunger 8 (hereinafter referred to as the burner tube) provided with an axial` bore 9 and carrying a resilient pad 10' (FIGURE 1) at its lower end. The burner tube constitutes the closing member of the conventional lighter valve 11 and is biassed towards its closed position by means of a helical spring 12. The valve body 11 is mounted in conventional manner in the top wall 2 of the fuel container, which may either be formed by the lighter casing 1, as shown, or removably inserted in such a casing. The burner tube 8 termiantes in a frustoconical tip 13 or 13a (FIGURE 2.) whose wider base serves as abutment for the forked end of the valve-operating lever 7.

According to the invention, the tip 13 is pierced axially bya blind bore 14 (FIGURE 3) which constitutes an extension of the axial bore 9 of the burner tube 8 and communicates with a radial blind passage 15 opening, at 16, at the conical wall of the tip. The smaller end of the tip 13 is provided with a screw-driver slot 17 in which a tool can be engaged for turning the burner assembly, or at least the tip, so as to direct the flame outlet at 16 in any desired direction.

The manner of operation of the burner will be obvious: When the lever 7 is actuated, the tip 13 is raised and carries with it the tube 8, thus permitting egress of gas. The gas issues at 16 and is ignited to produce a flame at 18 (FIGURE 2) by sparks produced by friction between the wheel 3 and llint 5.

As will be obvious from FIGURE l, the Whole of the burner assembly, with the tube 8 and the pad 10, can be turned at will by a tool inserted in the slot 17.

u In the modified embodiment shown in FIGURE 4, the

tip` 13a is mounted detachably on the upper end of the burner tube 8a. As in the arrangement shown in FIG- URES 1 and 3, the tip 13a is pierced with two intersecting blind bores or passages 14a and 15a for the gas flowing from the bore 9a of the tube 8a. The tube 8a is then preferably of conventional type and terminates in a frustoconical enlargement 19 adapted for having the tip 13a fitted on to it. For this purpose, conveniently, the tip 13a is provided internally with a frustoconical recess 20` for fitting on to the enlargement 19. Tlie enlargement 19 preferably forms a conventional burner head, with an axial flame outlet 21, and can be used as such in the absence of the tip 13a. In this embodiment, the lever 7 shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 acts directly on the enlargement 19. The tip 13a is mounted in position when it is desired that the flame should issue at right angles to the axis of the burner tube 8a and not in the direction of that axis. To avoid loss of the small tip, if it is detachable, it is preferably connected by a chain 22 (FIGURE 2) to the casing 1.

The detachable tip 13a may be mounted on the upper end or head of the burner tube 8a in various ways, for example by screwing it on an externally threaded end portion of the said tube.

If the tip 13a is loosely tted on the enlargement 19, it can be turned by a tool inserted in the slot 17a without simultaneously turning the whole of the burner assembly. If the tip 13a is permanently lixed (for example tightly tted or screwed) on the burner tube, the turning of the tip will cause the whole of the burner assembly to turn within the valve body 11 as in the case in which the tip 13 is integral with the burner tube 8.

The direction of the opening 16 facilitates the lighting of a pipe, because it is no longer necessary to turn the lighter through almost 180 from its normal position, as is the case when the flame issues axially. Turning through about is sufficient. Moreover, the possibility of directing the outlet 16 and therefore the llame 18 as desired also facilitates the lighting of a cigarette or the use of the lighter for other purposes.

I claim:

1. A gas-fuel lighter with a burner comprising an upwardly tapering frustoconical tip, a burner tube, constituting a valve, at the upper end of which the said tip is disposed, and a lever engaged with the burner for raising the Said tube to permit gas to pass, the said tip having a vblind axial passage which communicates with the said tube at the Wide base of the said tip and is connected to an outwardly directed radial passage permitting the emergence of a ame at right angles to the axis of the burner, while the smaller end of the tip has a formation in which a tool can be engaged for turning at least the tip and thus the direction of the ame.

2. A lighter according to claim 1, wherein the tip is formed by the upper end ofthe burner tube.

3. A lighter according to claim 1, wherein the tip iS mounted detachably on the upper end of the burner tube.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,793,912 5/1957 Krohm 239-587 X 3,245,234 4/1966 Kanamaru 431-156 X 1() 3,309,902 3/1967 Kanamaru 432-131 X SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner H. S. LANE, Assistant Examiner U.S. C1. X.R. 

